Every Minute Without You
by Ethereal Fae
Summary: ONESHOT. Anzu is haunted by the memory of the Pharaoh, when all she needs to do is let go... [Complete] COMPLETELY REWRITTEN!


Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh!

Author's Note: This was a story already posted but I re-edited it and made it much better. Muuuuuch better.

So enjoy!

**Every Minute Without You**

_"The word 'happiness' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness."—Carl Jung_

* * *

Anzu let her muscles relax as she sank further into the warm bath water. Her thoughts tumbled in her head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free. 

She could think of nothing but what had happened that day. What was she _thinking_? Why did she agree to that date? Sure, the man was nice enough. A college graduate with a degree in Law, but she wasn't satisfied. She sighed heavily and let a string of curses escape her lips. This isn't how she pictured herself, five years out of high school.

She was _supposed_ to be a successful dancer in the Julliard Ballet Company and though she had made it to New York, the Ballet Mistress was less than welcoming toward Anzu and snuffed her off with a wave of her hands.

"_Come back when you have smaller hips, __**dansuers**__ need to be able to catch you when you dance."_ She had said.

The nerve of that woman; _she_ probably couldn't even do a _**pirouette**_ with all the cottage cheese on _those_ thighs!

But that was five years ago. She was _supposed_ to be happy; but she wasn't. She couldn't understand the American tongue; the American Dream, a tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools. She was lost in this world of vanity, greed, and power. In return, she was treated like an outsider, a foreigner. They looked upon her with scrutinizing eyes and every day she felt her confidence slipping.

It was like being surrounded by millions of Kaiba-clones, like her own personal Shadow Realm. _Atem . . ._

Her stomach lurched involuntarily. She'd resurfaced old memories and reopened old wounds she hadn't meant to. She groaned and whimpered as old, disturbing, yet blissfully wonderful memories flooded her mind.

_Duelist Kingdom._

_Stone Tablets._

_Battle City._

_Millenium Items._

_Dartz._

_The Millenium Puzzle. _

_Crimson Eyes._

_The Pharaoh._

"Stop it!" Anzu grabbed her head. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks. All that denial she'd worked so hard to keep up crumbled like a cookie dunked in milk; without the sugary sweetness.

Broken memories of Atem invaded her vision and the more she dwelled, the more she hurt, but she couldn't let go.

_Atem . . ._

When she left Domino five years ago, she hoped and prayed to whatever god would listen to her that she could forget about those haunting eyes; that penetrating stare.

The gods were against her.

Anzu nearly died that day. She'd tried desperately to keep him there, if only for a moment. The doors began closing and Jounouchi had held her back, and so she cried like the weak little girl she was; pining for the one person she knew she could never have.

Her friends had tried consoling her. Yuugi had given condolences, but then she just felt like a jerk. Yuugi had lost more than just a friend. He'd lost a part of _himself_, and there she was, crying like she'd lost the love of her life.

Maybe he had been, but time could never tell. All she knew was that it wasn't fair. Not to her, and not to Yuugi. Atem was their rock, but even rocks are eroded and gone with time.

When graduation had come and gone she fled to New York and buried herself under work, and more work. She stopped calling her friends, and they eventually stopped calling her.

She thought she'd never hear from them again, until she received an E-mail from Yuugi last week. He told her about the death of his grandfather, and how he sold the Game shop and moved to Tokyo to work in partnership with Otogi. Yuugi had said that Dungeon Dice Monsters had made Duel Monsters obsolete and he had been losing profits in the shop. He told her about his acceptance into Tokyo University where he was going to study archaeology, just like his grandfather. He also brought up Atem, and how he hoped one day he could dig up the tomb where the Ceremonial Battle was held and preserve it.

He told her about the others. They were fairing well and starting families, but they were still worried about her.

Then she just felt like a bigger jerk. She'd cut off her friends in her own selfish desire to rot in her own misery. What had happened to that cheery Anzu who used to help her friends up when they fell?

She was gone. She had left the day Atem left, and suddenly Anzu thoughts had darkened.

She wanted to leave too. She didn't want to think anymore about the past. She didn't want to wake up every day and hide behind a smile.

She sank lower into the tub, completely submerging herself underwater.

Shortly after her lungs tightened and began to burn.

_Atem . . ._

She fought the need for air.

_I want to. . .let go. . ._

She emerged from the water, choking and sputtering. Tears rolling down her whitened cheeks. Hands trembling, she leaned against the edge of the tub and rested her head.

She began to sob.

"I can't. . .let go."

**Fin**

* * *

**Quotes and other Miscellaneous Things:**

"_Her thoughts tumbled in her head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free."—an email sent to me by a friend, which had different metaphor, similies, and analogies. _

"_Like fathers chasing kids around with power tools."—also from the email._

"_He'd lost a part of himself, and there she was, crying like she'd lost the love of her life."—Did anyone else notice that peeved look on Yuugi's face when he was like, "We all know how you feel, Tea." Yeah, she's very selfish. Think how Yuugi feels! Jeesh! _

_Dansuer- A male dancer in a ballet company_

_pirouette- (peer o wet) - a rotation or spin - a complete turn of the body on one foot, on point or demi-pointe (half- pointe)._

_Much better than the original. I should bludgeon myself for even posting the original! _

_Review Please! Thanks for reading!_


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